


Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

by alphie33



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 23:05:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17253083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphie33/pseuds/alphie33
Summary: A gift fic for the winter gift exchange over on the Reylo Writing Den for my very patient Secret Santa, Sophie, aka lostinthemaze. It currently sits unbetaed, but I wanted to get it up for you! All mistakes are my own so I deeply apologize.I chose to combine her two prompts of a first Christmas and a picking out a Christmas tree! This is part one of 3, the rest will be up shortly!Excerpt:[i]They drove in mostly silence, with the exception of Rey’s chattering teeth.“It’s honestly not even that cold, honey. I mean, we are still in the double digits.”“That’s easy for you to say. You have natural insulation. I’m not built for this kind of weather,” she snapped, her good mood from earlier having disappeared.[/i]





	Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LostintheMaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostintheMaze/gifts).



“Michael’s has trees on sale for 40% off right now, Ben. I don’t understand why we are out here in the freezing snow,” Rey complained, wrapping the large scarf she wore even tighter around her in an attempt to keep out the cold. 

Ben trudged on through the drifts, ignoring her complaints. She huffed, knowing she was being a bit of a Grinch about this whole ordeal. Rey had grown up in Nevada and so long as the temperature was below 60* she was freezing. Why she had agreed to brave the freezing lake effect snow of Buffalo, New York to chop down some poor tree was beyond her, yet here she was.

Even though Rey had on 5 layers of tops, 3 pairs of pants, the thickest socks she could scavenge from Ben’s personal stash, and the warmest most water proof boots she could find at the nearby _Fin, Feather, Fur,_ she highly doubted she would ever fully thaw out. It made her jealous knowing that Ben was perfectly comfortable in his flannel coat, jeans, and boots, and she simply told herself that she just wasn’t made for this kind of weather. Maybe next year she would be able to convince him to spend the holidays in Nevada and just buy a pre-lit tree on one of the many Black Friday sales that always occurred.

Ben paused, surveying the surrounding trees and she could see him reasoning through the options. Rey quickly moved closer to him in attempt to soak up some of his body heat, taking it upon herself to wrap his arm around her shoulders. He snapped out of his internal debate and smiled down at her, pulling her closer. “We are doing this for you, sweetheart! It’s not my fault you’ve never had a real Christmas tree.”

Rey rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile. The past year had been the happiest of her life, and she had Ben to thank for that. She had met him at a New Year’s Eve party last year and what followed had been the most memorable hours of Rey’s college life. Rey had arrived to New York University with a scholarship for engineering, having always excelled in school despite her home life. She was a sophomore when she had clumsily bumped into him, causing him to spill his drink. What had followed had been a lecture about underage drinking and how she should conduct herself more carefully. Rey, not having had a sip, had snapped back telling the broad man to mind his own business and that she wasn’t even partaking in any alcoholic shenanigans, that she was only here because her friends had dragged her out.

Ben had given a half-assed apology, saying he just assumed all undergrads were the same when it came to parties.

Rey had risen a brow to his comment, retorting “Then why are you even here?”

“Same reason you are,” came his answer. “I’m the DD for my idiot friends.”

She stood before him, silent for a few seconds. “I’m Rey,” she said, extending her hand for an awkward handshake.

“Ben,” he replied, grasping her hand.

The two had been inseparable since that night, to the disgust of their respective friend groups. Ben was an Anthropology Grad student studying the changing family culture occurring in America. He tried to explain his interest, but Rey was terribly confused by the abstract notions and the fact that culture, which was the entire focus of his study, didn’t even have a proper definition.

“Well, to be fair, I can’t really say I understand much about what you study either,” he told her one night.

Rey shrugged, stating that at least Mechanical Engineering was rooted in mathematical and hard scientific facts.

Quickly, they had come to an understanding that both were good at what they did and respected the work the other produced.

Their friends, however, didn’t see the same way. It was tough at first, but Rey and Ben came to the realization that so long as they were happy, it didn’t matter what others thought.

Speaking of happiness, Rey was brought back to the present when she noticed that she had wandered too deep into a snow drift and her boots were now full of snow. She let out an exasperated noise, calling her inconvenience to Ben’s attention.

He turned and laughed at the scene before him before moving to assist his girlfriend with the situation she was now stuck in. Despite her heavy layers, he had no issue lifting her and carrying her bridal style back to the path that had been made along the rows of the tree farm they were currently at.

“Can’t you just pick one out and then we can get back to your house where it’s warm?” She asked, her shivers punctuating her thoughts.

“Sure thing, sweetheart. Though that just sounds like you want to get me out of my clothes,” Ben replied, winking at her.

She sighed, trying to hide a smile and the growing blush on her cheeks. “Yeah, with your mother home I’m sure that’ll be super romantic.”

Ben returned the smile, instructing her to wait here while he found an employee to indicate they had found their tree.

Rey stood, safe from any snow drifts on the path, shivering and trying to think of warm thoughts. Ben returned what couldn’t have been more than three minutes later, though to her it had felt like hours. He had an axe slung over his shoulder and was whistling a Christmas carol, and Rey couldn’t help but think how perfectly he looked like a Hallmark movie.

He began to chop down the tree, and Rey felt arousal start to bloom in her stomach as she watched his muscles flex beneath the flannel.

 _This is insane. No one should be this hot chopping down a Christmas Tree,_ Rey thought to herself.

Suddenly, she realized she didn’t mind the cold as much and made a mental note to tell Ben to bring that flannel coat back with him to school after the Holidays. She watched as he swung the axe and jumped a little every time it made contact with the trunk of the tree, and Rey decided there were definitely worse places she could be right now.

Ben made quick work of the tree, the trunk being rather thin. She moved closer to him and held out her hand, a silent offering to help him carry something. He handed her the tool, and bent to grab hold of the tree and Rey couldn’t stop herself from staring at the view he was so kindly presenting her with.

When he rose, she quickly glanced up and smiled, but she knew she had been caught red handed. “Like what you see?” he asked, flashing her a smirk.

Coyly, she nodded and replied, “Very much, but I’d like it even better without all those layers.”

He chuckled, and began dragging the tree back to the main entrance of the farm that housed the payment shed and other tools and amenities Rey had yet to figure out the use for. It was a quick walk, and she couldn’t help but feeling guilty at her attitude before. Clearly, this was something Ben enjoyed and she should be thankful that he was sharing this experience with her. Ben didn’t have the best relationship with his family, but she knew he adored the holiday season as it was one of the few times of the year most everyone put aside their differences and gathered like they used to when he had been younger. She knew it had been his Grandfather’s favorite time of the year, and his family respected his memory by staying (mostly) civil with each other at least for the duration of Christmas Eve dinner.

Rey had never experienced a traditional Christmas, having grown up in the foster care system it was quite rare for her to ever spend enough time at one house to celebrate more than one Christmas with a family. This being the case, she never had much of a chance to really experience all the traditional traditions that were associated with the holidays. Ben had taken it upon himself to change this, starting with picking out their own tree and inviting her to his childhood home to have a fun old fashioned family Christmas.

She watched intently as her boyfriend loaded the tree into what he called the shaker. He explained how it shook out things such as pinecones, loose needles, the occasional bird nest, and (he was very adamant about the truth of this statement) even a squirrel one year. She laughed and watched as he and the farm attendant loaded it into the next machine, which wrapped the tree with a net that would supposedly make it easier for transportation. While originally she had poked fun at Ben for driving such a ridiculously large truck, she now was starting to understand its necessity out here.

The tree was now loaded into the bed of his vehicle, and Ben asked if there was anything else she wanted to do while she was here. Rey shook her head, honestly just wanting to get inside and warm herself up. She climbed into his cab and cranked the heat, ignoring Ben’s explanation it would only blast cold air until the engine warmed up.

They drove in mostly silence, with the exception of Rey’s chattering teeth.

“It’s honestly not even that cold, honey. I mean, we are still in the double digits.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You have natural insulation. I’m not built for this kind of weather,” she snapped, her good mood from earlier having disappeared.

Ben reached across the seat and rested his hand on her knee, knowing better than to engage with her at the moment.

Once she warmed up, she covered his hand with her own, turning for the first time to face him since they had left the tree farm. “I’m sorry. I really am. I know you’re just trying to make this special for me. I just…I’m really not a cold weather person,” she explained, her excuse a pitiful one but the truth none the less.

“You’re fine, Rey. I understand. We’ll be back at my mom’s soon and I’ll make you some tea to warm up, sound good?”

She nodded, smiling and wondering to herself what she must have done to deserve such a caring man like him.


End file.
